Do you know how talented your employees really are? Every
employee has hidden talents that could take your company from good
to great. "People come with more talent than the job
they're hired for," says Robert Kelley, a professor of
management at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.

Tapping the talent zeitgeist is more important than ever before.
Employees want their hidden talents to be recognized and developed:
When Indianapolis loyalty research firm Walker Information Inc.
surveyed 2,400 employees last year, it found two-thirds wanted to
leave their companies because there weren't enough development
opportunities.

While skills and knowledge can be learned, talent is
instinctive. An administrative assistant could have a knack for
negotiation, or an accountant a penchant for spotting industry
trends. Employees may also have "black market"
talents-like photography or musical ability-that don't seem
relevant to the workplace but can "make new things
happen" if used strategically, says David Magellan Horth,
program manager and a senior faculty member at the Center for
Creative Leadership, a leadership training and research firm in
Greensboro, North Carolina. He points to one manager who opened a
meeting by playing his cello to get employees thinking. It
worked.

Employees rise above the rest once they harness their natural
talents, says Kenneth A. Tucker, seminar leader and managing
consultant for The Gallup Organization in Washington, DC, and
co-author of Animals, Inc.: A Business Parable for the 21st
Century (Warner Books). His research has found that an
employee using his or her true talents has more than twice the
productivity of a person who doesn't have a natural talent for
doing the same job. And a company rockets to the next level once
each employee applies his or her talents. "Tiger Woods
redefined our reality of what great golf looks like," Tucker
says. "Talent will redefine the reality of your
organization."

As an entrepreneurial company, you have a size advantage in
unleashing talent. But it's hard for most managers to think
beyond meeting quarterly projections and enforcing job
descriptions. "It's not that they tell [employees] they
can't use their talents," Kelley says. "[Managers]
don't even think of it as a possibility."

You and your managers can master the possibilities with
strategic thinking. Start by making sure your recruiting tools are
centered on developing talent. "When you sit down for an
interview, is the discussion and conversation about talent?"
Tucker says. "It has to come down to individual employee
performance."

Use one-on-ones to find out what drives each employee. What are
their hobbies and interests, and how do they feel they're being
underutilized at work? Contemplate how you can incorporate their
hidden talents, and phase in change slowly. You might let the
receptionist spend two hours a week on a marketing project, for
example, or allow a software engineer interested in sales to sit in
on an occasional sales meeting.

Alliant Technologies LLC, a 5-year-old IT engineering and
consulting company in Morristown, New Jersey, uses a survey tool
called the Predictive Index (published by PI Worldwide of
Wellesley, Massachusetts) to assess employee workstyles. When the
80-employee company tested workers in 2003, it found some people
weren't using their true talents. One engineer had an ability
for sales, and another entry-level employee had a gift for
detail-oriented projects. The company is having the engineer
research market trends, and the entry-level employee is now in an
administrative function. "We identified strengths and were
able to move people into more effective positions," says
founder and CEO Bruce Flitcroft, 38. Developing talent isn't
hurting Alliant: Sales grew 34 percent in 2003 to $25 million.

Company meetings can also unearth hidden talents. Begin a
discussion where employees can offer solutions to problems. You
might be surprised what people know. "It's an opportunity
for employees to unleash their talents," Kelley says.

What you do now will put your company ahead as talent wars heat
up again, because the best firms will be consistent about
identifying talent and putting it in the right place. "This is
not a quick fix," says Tucker. "It's a cultural
revamping."

Flitcroft's advice? Developing hidden talent takes time, but
the results can be dramatic. "Of our 20 original [employees],
18 are still here," he says. "That's a damn good
sign."